Former Morse High football standout David Gates became the first defendant in the University of San Diego bribery case to plead guilty, admitting Thursday he collected debts for what he described as an illegal sports gambling ring.

The length of any proposed sentence was not divulged at the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter. Gates is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 28.

The April indictment against the 10 defendants in the case also includes allegations of marijuana distribution and fixing college basketball games, but Gates’ plea dealt only with the sports bookmaking side of the operation.

Gates, 35, admitted to being a member of an “illegal gambling business” that included fellow defendants Steve Goria, Richard Garmo, Paul Thweni, Richard Thweni and Lilian Goria. Gates answered yes when Porter asked whether, in 2010, he assisted in “the collection of outstanding gambling debts on several occasions … under the direction of Steve Goria and for the benefit of other co-conspirators.”

Former USD players Brandon Johnson and Brandon Dowdy, along with former USD assistant coach Thaddeus Brown, have been indicted as well. Their names were not mentioned as part of Thursday’s hearing.

Gates also was charged in state court as part of a home-invasion case involving Steve Goria and reached a plea agreement in that case June 29. Gates is facing a five-year maximum sentence in the federal case, but his attorney, David Zugman, expects him to receive far less and serve it concurrently with any prison time he might get in state court.

Zugman said another motivation for Gates was to cut a deal before a “superseding indictment,” with more charges and potentially longer prison exposure, could be filed in the USD case.

“Stay tuned,” Zugman said. “I think this (current) indictment is not the final indictment. The government has not told me anything, but I’m just going by my experience in these types of cases. I’m sure there will be a superseding indictment.”

Another defendant, Jake Salter, appeared to be moving closer to a plea agreement based on recent court filings. The other defendants have been offered plea agreements ranging from six months to three years in prison, according to several defense attorneys, but there are no indications anyone has accepted them.

Gates and Steve Goria are the only defendants who remain in custody. Goria was denied bond once again last week following a detention hearing before U.S. Judge Anthony Battaglia.

“While new information was weighed,” Battaglia wrote in his decision, “the outcome remains the same, the court finding that the government has met its burden … that (Goria) is a risk of flight and is subject to pretrial detention in this case.”